What an oncologist wants us to know about everyday chemicals

In this special episode of “Post Reports,” columnist Petula Dvorak reads her first installment of The Post’s revealing history column, Retropolis. James Buchanan barely won the presidency. The nation was roiling in the debate over slavery. So when Buchanan became gravely ill before his inaugural address, it wasn’t a stretch to suspect an assassination attempt. The presidential entourage all stayed at the posh National Hotel on Capitol Hill and they fell ill, too. It hit more than 400 guests of the hotel and more than 30 died. It became known as the mysterious National Hotel Disease and confounded Washington for months. This column details the story of the sickness and the doctors and detectives who searched for the cause.The piece was reported, written and read by Petula Dvorak. Audio production and original music by Bishop Sand.

18 Jan 10min

Aaron Blake, senior political reporter and author of The Campaign Moment newsletter talks with national security reporter Abby Hauslohner and national politics reporter Hannah Knowles about the most heated exchanges that Trump’s picks for defense secretary and attorney general, Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi, faced during their Senate confirmation hearings. They also talk about what to expect if the historic ceasefire deal goes into effect over the weekend and what to watch for at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff and Rennie Svirnovskiy, who also mixed the episode. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Rachel Van Dongen. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

17 Jan 26min

After months of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. But its fate is already in doubt. If the agreement takes effect as planned Sunday, an initial 42-day ceasefire would bring Gaza’s residents some relief from Israeli attacks that have killed more than 46,700 people there, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry’s toll does not distinguish between civilians and militants.In exchange, Hamas has agreed to release 33 of the hostages it kidnapped during its Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.The status of the deal is not certain: On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office cast doubt on whether it would be formally approved. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have killed at least 77 people in the Gaza Strip since the deal was announced, according to Gaza’s civil defense spokesman. At least 25 women and 21 children were reported to be among the dead.Today on “Post Reports,” correspondent Claire Parker joins us from Jerusalem to talk about the factors that finally led to a ceasefire agreement – and what the road ahead could look like.Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Monica Campbell with help from Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair.Thanks to Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Miriam Berger, Erin Cunningham and Alan Sipress. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

16 Jan 24min

The 2024 election pushed some people to put down their phones more and tune out of the news. But author Catherine Price started thinking about breaking up with her phone years ago, after realizing she was focusing on it instead of her newborn daughter. “Our devices and their apps are designed to fragment our attention, whether it is taking us out of our real-life experience and getting us to focus our attention even momentarily on the phone itself or it's what we do within apps where we are looking at different pieces of content in a particular feed,” Price told “Post Reports” co-host Elahe Izadi. After realizing how detrimental her phone was to her life, she wrote “How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life.” The book details the negative impact our phones can have on our attention and mental health and provides advice for how to create a healthier relationship with them.“It really has made me feel more alive,” Price said. “It encouraged me to ask questions that have resulted in me tapping into this broader community of people I never would have met and discovering this joy.”Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Maggie Penman and mixed by Sam Bair. You can find more writing by Price at her Substack here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

15 Jan 23min

After two men brutally assaulted a security guard on a train platform in St. Louis, police detectives faced a daunting challenge: identifying the attackers. Police turned to facial recognition technology, feeding a blurry image from a small surveillance camera into the software.The software gave them the mugshot of a man who says he had nothing to do with the crime. Christopher Gatlin spent over a year in jail awaiting trial before the case was dropped.Gatlin is one of at least eight people in the United States who have been wrongfully arrested after being identified by facial recognition technology. All of those cases were eventually dropped by prosecutors – but only after the suspects fought to clear their names.Business and tech investigations reporter Doug MacMillan unpacks his research into how police are using AI-driven facial recognition and how people like Gatlin have been wrongfully arrested as a result.Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff and Trinity Webster-Bass. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Evelyn Larrubia. Thank you to David Ovalle and Aaron Schaffer.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

14 Jan 31min

Today, when disaster hits home. Weather editor Paulina Firozi and Brianna Sacks, an extreme weather and disaster reporter, are Post colleagues. We'll hear how they and others are grappling with the devastation in L.A. Read more:When several wildfires began ripping through parts of Los Angeles County on Jan. 7, The Post’s Brianna Sacks, an extreme weather and disaster reporter, began documenting the destruction. Then the story turned personal as her own father’s house in Pacific Palisades burned down. Since Tuesday, the Palisades Fire has burned over 23,000 acres. The Eaton Fire, which erupted to the northeast, has burned more than 14,000 acres, according to Cal Fire, while the Hurst Fire, burning in the north, has spread to over 700 acres.At least 24 people have been killed in the fires.Today on “Post Reports,” Brianna speaks with weather editor Paulina Firozi, also from Los Angeles, about the wildfires and what it has meant to see their childhood neighborhoods erased. We also hear from other Angelenos about how they are grappling with loss — and finding hope. Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was mixed by Sam Bair and edited by Monica Campbell and Renita Jablonski. Thanks also to Zach Goldfarb, Juliet Eilperin, Maggie Penman and Allison Michaels. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

13 Jan 23min

Senior political reporter Aaron Blake talks with The Post’s White House editor, Naftali Bendavid, and national political reporter Maeve Reston about the politics of Trump’s sentencing in the New York hush money case. They also dig into how Trump is trying to pin the Los Angeles wildfires on Democrats and look ahead to next week’s Senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and Rachel Van Dongen and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

10 Jan 29min

After 10 years on the job, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this week that he is stepping down. Today, The Washington Post’s Amanda Coletta and host Elahe Izadi break down Trudeau’s career, where this leaves Canadian politics and what this could mean for U.S.-Canada relations.Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick with help from Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Reena Flores with help from Monica Campbell. It was mixed by Sam Bair. Thanks to Reem Akkad.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

9 Jan 23min